*It doesn't seem like Colloredo Boulevard's been around for over 20 years; people complain about the traffic light at North Main Street like it's something recent.

I've been taking some quick looks back at some Times-Gazettes from years past afer realizing I don't remember the exact years a few local events occurred.

I found a photo I'd shot of a 1986 traffic accident on Colloredo. Time goes by...

*Old buildings going...going...gone: The building next to the laundromat on South Cannon Boulevard, which housed a union hall for much of existence, is being demolished.

Looks like one of the remaining older homes on North Main Street, near Doak-Howell Funeral Home, will be the next to go.

Shelbyville's sure changing lately. Drive down North Main or even Madison Street and imagine what was in each building's location, or what existing buildings housed, and it's apparent we're a different city in many ways.

Why can't we hold onto our old buildings-especially if we're going to replace it with a vintage-style building?

I realize that some of these venerable edifices are too far gone to restore or retro-fit but all that can be preserved of them should be saved.

We've razed places whose architectural salvage alone would bring in more than the land beneathe them.

Fixing places before they deteriorate, bringing them up to code when possible,keeping them in use as homes or businesses,moving them if necessary, recycling their components when they can't be saved and preserving them on film,in displays and in our hearts seems much more appropriate than letting good materials,workmanship and irreplacable bits of history be tossed away like trash.

No,we don't need to squander funds on unsafe,impractical money pits but a little foresight,some financial incentives and deterrents against neglect and "remuddling" can keep the brick,stone,wood,mortar,glass and metal parts of our heritage from degrading into eyesores,hazards,headquarters for criminals or vacant lots.

The old places offer more than beauty and heirloom plants.

They show people that we have a past worth respecting,a present worth their participation and a future that will have as much promise as what has come before.